New Work

Brow of the Hill

Evening Light - print available

Journey -  print available

Autumn Day

Blushed

North wind doth blow

We shall have snow

Here is a selection of my newest originals. These are on show during October at Opus Gallery, Ashbourne, along with work completed earlier in the year. I have been trying to include more gestural and expressive mark in the pieces. The emotions I feel when faced with an inspiring landscape travel through me and are harnessed in the marks I make. With this initial raw painting in acrylic or ink, I know how the journey of creating the piece is going to go. I am learning to let this energy flow and I am pleased with the results, especially in the winter inspired piece, 'North wind doth blow'. 

Autumn days

Well, this is it....I've made it to autumn and have spent the last month meeting a series of deadlines.  I wasn't sure that I'd achieve as much as I have managed to as everything came hard on the heels of getting the boys back to school. Summer has been busy with family commitments and a lot of decorating and my creative time kept on getting squeezed. But it was such a beautiful, colourful, light filled summer and I was so inspired by the energy of the landscapes I found myself in. The work I completed received a great response at the Melbourne Festival and has now made its way to Opus Gallery in Ashbourne where it is on show until the end of October. Here's a few images from the events I have been doing. And I'm so pleased to be able to announce the opening of two new galleries who are stocking my work, CDS Gallery at Cottesbach Stables in Leicestershire and White Street Gallery in Kibworth, Leicestershire, where I'm very proud to be sharing wall space with Reg Cartwright!

Melbourne Festival venue

small collage pieces - workshops

Autumn colour!

Opus Gallery Ashbourne

Ashbourne exhibition

Workshops!

I've got a program of workshops happening this autumn. First up is Creative Collage for Ceramics at Beans Coffee Shop Gallery in Bolsover.  It's on Sunday 13th October from 10-4. You will get to create a collage or two, I'll demonstrate the water based transfer technique I use to create my ceramic pieces and after the workshop I'll fire your design on to a coaster tile or mug. It could solve all your Christmas present problems!

Ray of Light tile

The day is fun and informal with a lovely lunch provided in the £50 cost. Why not book with a friend?
Booking is direct with the gallery on 01246 828691.

Can't make that one?  More details about my workshops on my website and here.

High days and holidays

What a summer! So much sunshine and great trips out and away. I've survived the juggle of entertaining the children, decorating, doing the allotment and garden (I had to set to making jam as soon as we returned from holiday as the freezer had started to defrost and I couldn't bear to see all that good fruit go to waste). We had holidays in Yorkshire and Norfolk and soaked up sun, foraged for food (nettle bread on the campfire) and watched the stars (but missed the meteors). I fell in love with knitting and have clocked up a snood, some fingerless gloves and half a cardigan. I love that I can carry it with me and create something in the gaps between other activities. It is also like a walking meditation, creating something one stitch at a time. Dotted through the holidays were visits from friends and visits to friends and picnic after picnic.....

And now I am relishing the back-to-school routines; the new shoes and coats.....the peace and quiet and being back in the studio! But time is short and I have a busy autumn planned out that you can find out more about here.

The summer can't end though until the art festival season is over. This year I am exhibiting at the Melbourne Festival in Derbyshire which takes place this coming weekend (September 14th/15th). I love exhibiting there.  Having taken part in both the Wirksworth and Melbourne Festivals last year, this year I decided to treat myself to just visiting Wirksworth and enjoying the Art Trail. When you are exhibiting it is so hard to get out and enjoy the town; the music, art and street performance. My favourite exhibitors were Michael Cook and Split-Tin Guitars. Since I last had the chance to mooch around Wirksworth, lots of new shops have arrived and we visited 'The Northern Light Cinema' for the first time and can't wait to go back to see a film in this beautiful, trendy-retro cinema bar.

Northern Light Cinema

'Granny Smith' window

So after a relaxing Wirksworth experience I have a long to-do list to get done ahead of setting up for Melbourne Festival on Friday. I have work at the framers, I've collected my prints, including a couple of new ones. I have a head full of sun kissed landscapes waiting to come out and can't wait to splash some paint around!

Summer

I am flitting here there and everywhere!  I'm enjoying good weather, friends and family and multi tasking children/decorating/creating and knitting.  I have managed to get my autumn courses listed here, and hope you can join me at some point.

Where am I? Where I am.

I keep finding my flow then losing it.  The flow of creativity isn't a constant one and I am frustrated at the moment balancing input and output.  I know that I have deadlines and obligations in September, October and December and the amount of work I need to do is overwhelming me. I know that I get my best ideas when I have had a break and I am looking forward to getting out and about during the summer. I keep trying to focus back in on myself and stay with the moment and not worry about the outcomes, to trust that they will come out.  I keep showing up in the studio and creating papers, getting jobs done, preparing for my workshop.  I am reminding myself of what makes my work mine and returning to favourite inspirations.  I recently saw an exhibition at Nottingham Castle called 'Now and Next' featuring the work of Polly Binns and Anne Morrell.  I met Anne Morrell when travelling in India after graduation.  She was teaching at the National College of Design in Ahmedabad and helped us in crossing the cultural bridge between Britain and India.  Much of the textiles of India forms a base for my own creativity.  I still love the block prints in subtle colours of Anokhi.  And the stitch I use in my work is inspired by the close lines of Kantha stitch that have also inspired Anne Morrell in her work.  Fused with those traditional textile craft inspirations are a very British aesthetic.  The artists of Mid Twentieth Century Britain continue to inspire me, Ben Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson, Eric Ravillious, and contemporary artists who share similar aesthetic influences, Elaine Pamphilon, Mark Hearld. So now I have reminded myself who I am (!) I will keep on keeping on.

new collection of small landscape collages

Ben Nicholson '13 December 1947'

printed papers in my studio inspired by Indian block prints and book endpapers

Indian blockprints

Elaine Pamphilon mixes Indian ethnic and Modern British influences.

Sun Drenched

Just before I go off for a sun drenched weekend I wanted to show you my new work.  I've been working on a collection of small landscapes for a new print collection.  I thought it might be interesting to take photos as the work progressed and I've embedded a slideshow in this blog's sidebar.  Let me know what you think!

New Day

Full Moon

Sun Drenched

Quiet